Story by Blake Sandlin
Sports Editor
When the clock sat at 13 seconds with Murray State’s men’s basketball team knotted at 64 with the University of Evansville Tuesday night, everyone knew who was getting the ball.
That didn’t stop the inevitable from happening. Sophomore guard Ja Morant caught a pass from senior guard Shaq Buchanan at the top of the key, and as the seconds dwindled down, he carved and euro-stepped through the lane to scoop in a layup with less than a second remaining to capture the 66-64 victory.
Ja called game. pic.twitter.com/iexK0IwZPB
— Blake Sandlin (@BlakeSandlin) December 19, 2018
The shot topped off a miraculous showcase from Morant that included scoring 13 of the Racers’ final 15 points to help the Racers climb out of a 7-point hole with 4:16 remaining in the game.
The win came in spite of one of Murray State’s worst offensive showings of the year. The Racers shot an abysmal 39 percent from the field in the game – their lowest percentage of the year – yet still found a way to grind out their ninth win of the season.
“We needed a game like this,” McMahon said. “We’ve won seven games, all by double figures. We needed a tough game; we needed to face some adversity, and being down seven with I believe 4:15 to go is certainly plenty of adversity. I was proud of our guys response; I thought they showed a lot of toughness and grit. We just found a way to win. I think that’s what good players and good teams do.”
Evansville neutralized the Racers offensively for most the night, holding them to 9-for-25 shooting in the second half. McMahon credited the Purple Aces’ zone defense for preventing offensive ball reversal in most of the first half. Evansville limited Morant to just 10-for-25 shooting.
“This will be a great learning experience for him,” McMahon said. He struggled there; didn’t play his best in the stretch in the second half. I think he got frustrated by that. But what I’m proud of is he regrouped, and in the last four and a half minutes he took over and closed the game out.”
Morant himself admitted the Purple Aces baited him into tough shots during a rough second-half stretch, but when the game was on the line and the Racers needed him most, the spectacular sophomore rose to the occasion.
“I think what changed was my mindset,” Morant said. “Normally my game is to put pressure on the defense and I like attacking the rack to put the refs in position to make a call. I think I was focused on the calls instead of finishing the play, and in the end I was like, ‘Yeah, you just gotta go finish and play through the calls.’”
The Racers, while turning Evansville over 15 times, were unable to lean on their up-tempo style. The team managed just three fast-break points, but did accrue 20 points off turnovers in Tuesday’s game.
Morant finished his spectacular night with 27 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the win. Buchanan added 10 points and eight rebounds, while freshman guard Tevin Brown and freshman forward KJ Williams added eight and six points, respectively.
The Racers will now turn their sights to their toughest test of the season in No. 7 Auburn. Murray State tips-off against the Tigers at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 22, in Auburn, Alabama.
